"Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple"

The conflict in Syria—From the Archbishop’s office. The Holy Father has addressed political leaders asking them to work for peace through diplomacy. He also addresses Catholics world wide and calls upon us to join him in prayer and fasting. The Nuncio has written to Archbishop Tartaglia asking him to encourage prayer and fasting throughout the Archdiocese. Please take an opportunity this weekend to observe the Holy Father’s request and to pray before The Blessed Sacrament and to recite the rosary, turning to Mary the Queen of Peace at any time available and at your convenience Fr. Donnelly’s Retirement—On Friday 4th October Father Donnelly retires from St. Andrew’s parish where he has served for the last eighteen years. To mark his retirement there is a parish function and presentation on Saturday 26th October. All parishioners are most welcome and will have the opportunity to speak with Fr. Donnelly and wish him well. The Vigil Mass at 6pm will be concelebrated, followed by a wine and cheese in the church hall. There are no tickets for the function and there will be a nominal charge at the bar. Please feel free to come in at any time in the evening until around 9.30pm. Envelopes for donations for a personal presentation to Father are available at the back of the church. Please return these in the second collection. Cheques are payable to St. Andrew’s Church. National Pilgrimage in honour of St. Columba—At Carfin on Sunday 8th September 2013 at 3.00 p.m. See notice in the porch of the church for details. Ladies Cabaret and Fun Casino Night in Aid of the White Lily Fund which raises money for Cancer Research in the West of Scotland—Friday 25th October at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Champagne Reception 3 Course Meal, Cabaret and Fun Casino Tables. As always it will be a great night. Tickets cost £45.00 each. Ladies only so why not get together with some friends and take a table of 10. For more information and Ticket, please contact Angela Bruno on 07730615045. Quarterly Collection—is now due. Vocations Awareness Week—Begins Sunday 15th September. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from after 12 noon Mass until Benediction at 5.00 p.m. East Dunbartonshire Council Primary School Estate Statutory Consultation—Period ends on Friday 11th October 2013. The Council announces a public meeting at St. Andrew’s Primary School on Monday 16th September at 7.30 p.m. as an opportunity to ask questions about the proposals and to raise issues or concerns.

Assisted Parishes Collection—8th September Special Second Collections. Bearsden Festival —13th—15th September—for programme information, see notice in the church porch. For the African Children’s choir, some tickets are available at the piety stall. Adults £5.00—Children £3.00. Children’s Choir Dates—September 2nd, September 8th, November 10th, November 17th, December 8th, December 15th. All at 10.00 a.m. Mass. For queries contact Annamaria Strachan 942-9799 or 07749715514. Altar Servers—Any young member of the Parish (who has made his/her First Holy Communion) who would like to become an Altar Server is invited to contact Chris Sanders (942-7519) or Fr. Donnelly, who will gladly take your details. Training sessions are due to commence soon. Justice and Peace—Kilombero rice from Malawi will again be on sale at teas after 10am mass on Sunday 15th September. When we buy this delicious and versatile, fairly traded rice, we support the development of the farming communities in north Malawi who produce it. More information is available at www.justtradingscotland.co.uk BEAM (Bearsden & Milngavie Talking Newspaper Association) - BEAM is a service for the blind, the partially sighted and those otherwise labouring under some temporary or permanent incapacity or disability. It was formed as an outreach service by the then Bearsden South Church, now Bearsden Cross Church, and has been a registered charity since 1990. BEAM volunteers and listeners have been an ecumenical group from the beginning. BEAM provides a digital audio recording of the Milngavie and Bearsden Herald on memory stick, entirely free of charge to users. BEAM is run by a group of around fifty volunteers divided into teams to carry out all of the necessary tasks: reading, recording and copying of memory sticks. We depend on donations and fund raising. We are always happy to hear from new volunteers and are especially happy to hear from anyone who would like to receive our weekly memory stick. We also produce a two monthly and a quarterly magazine. Contact: Secretary--Mrs Desnee Ashley 0141 942 4231, Chairman—Mr Alisdair Meldrum 0141 942 2473.Catholic Nurses Guild of Scotland—see notice in the porch. Glasgow Faith Forum—see notice in the porch. Faith, Food & Fellowship—Sunday 27th October @ 7.15pm in New Kilpatrick New Halls. As we eat, talk and laugh together we will listen as God speaks to us through the foods of the bible. This is an Association of Bearsden Churches event for Bible Sunday. Please buy a ticket in advance from Margaret Sanders or Nora Mochan, our parish ABC representatives. Piety Stall Rota—We are short of volunteers to assist with serving in the Piety Stall, particularly after the Vigil Mass. If you could spare 15 minutes after Mass and are aged over 16, we would really appreciate your help. The rota sheet for September, October, November and December is on the notice board at the back of the Church. Any questions please call Anne MacIntosh 931 5861 or Annamaria Strachan 942 9799 The Piety Stall has a large selection of retirement cards on sale.